Police Academy (film series)
| Police Academy | |
|---|---|
Police Academy DVD boxset
|
|
| Directed by |
Hugh Wilson (1) Jerry Paris (2-3) Jim Drake (4) Alan Myerson (5) Peter Bonerz (6) Alan Metter (7) |
| Produced by | Paul Maslansky |
| Starring |
David Graf G.W. Bailey Steve Guttenberg Bubba Smith Leslie Easterbrook Marion Ramsey George Gaynes Michael Winslow Bob Goldthwait Tim Kazurinsky Tab Thacker |
| Music by | Robert Folk |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
|
Release date
|
1984–1994 |
|
Running time
|
627 min. (total) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $239.6 million |
Police Academy is a series of American comedy films, the first six of which were made in the 1980s. The seventh and to date last installment, Mission to Moscow, was released in 1994. The series opened with Police Academy (1984) which started with the premise that a new mayor had announced a policy requiring the police department to accept all willing recruits. The movie followed a group of misfit recruits in their attempts to prove themselves capable of being police officers, and succeeding both in spite of and because of their eccentricities. The main character, Carey Mahoney (Steve Guttenberg), was a repeat offender who was forced to join the police academy as punishment.
In general, all of the movies and television shows depended on low-brow humor, usually based on simple characterizations and physical comedy. As with many similar movies, the theme was a group of underdogs struggling to prove themselves while various stereotyped authority figures tried to suppress them. The sequels have not been well received by critics over the years. The first film grossed $81.2 million in North America, with the following films earning $150 million in total. Parallels are often drawn between Police Academy and the British Carry On franchise for their common reliance on a largely constant ensemble cast throughout the various films, the two series' frequent use of low brow humor, sexual innuendo and physical comedy.
Police Academy was released in 1984, and directed by Hugh Wilson. The film has a newly elected mayor announcing a policy requiring the police department to accept all willing recruits. The movie followed a group of misfit recruits in their attempts to prove themselves capable of being police officers and their adventures at the police academy. In Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment, the newly graduated cadets are sent to one of the worst precincts in the city to improve the conditions. Lt. Mauser undermines their attempts so that he can get Capt. Lassard fired and get the position in charge. Police Academy 3: Back in Training was released in 1986, and like its predecessor was directed by Jerry Paris. When the governor of the state announces that budget cuts are in order to get rid of the worst of the two police academies, the Metropolitan police academy, led by Commandant Lassard, work on ensuring it isn't theirs. This is hindered by their unusual gang of new cadets. The fourth installment, Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol, released in 1987, involves new recruits being brought in when the officers work with a newly formed Citizens On Patrol group. However, Harris and Proctor are in charge and plan to dismantle the program. Citizens on Patrol was the final film starring Guttenberg. Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach was released in 1988 and directed by Alan Myerson. The plot involves the officers attending a police convention in Florida to honor Commandant Eric Lassard as police officer of the decade where Commandant Lassard inadvertently switches his sports bag with that of a group of jewel thieves. The thieves try to get it back. The sixth installment, Police Academy 6: City Under Siege directed by Peter Bonerz, was released in 1989. When the city suffers from a dangerous set of crimes by a gang of jewel thieves, the Metropolitan Police Academy graduates are brought in to do something about it. Police Academy: Mission to Moscow released in 1994, and directed by Alan Metter involved the officers go to Russia to help catch an international crime figure.
...
Wikipedia